Mojkovac part 2- Biogradska national park and visit from the neighbors

SATURDAY:

When we emerged from our room Saturday morning Bojana served us Serbian coffee and slatka, a traditional sweet welcoming offering, in this case made from quince and walnuts. For breakfast we had a delicious cheesy macaroni dish, more cheese, more bread, homemade pastry with spinach, tomatoes, cake, and homemade yogurt-milk eaten with a spoon. 

After the morning misty fog dissipated the skies were clear and temperatures in the low 70’s. We climbed into the White Angel (the name we gave to Mičo’s 4 wheel drive vehicle) and set off for the nearby Biogradska National Park where Mičo planned to show us the high pastures where he grazed the family’s sheep every summer when he was a boy. As is often the case over here, there were no seatbelts in the back where Bojana and I sat. On the way out of town a policeman stopped Mičo and checked his license. I asked why we were stopped and the only answer I got was, ‘traffic control’.

Jim and I had been to Biogradska once before, in 2017, the year we met Kristina and Dušan. We had parked at the small lake where many people go for picnics or short walks. This time, however, after a brief stop at the lake Micčo drive through the rugged parking lot and up an even more rugged road, the same road Jim and I had hiked. At that time we wondered if anyone actually drove up the road. On this day we discovered that, yes, very occasionally people with capable vehicles and expert driving skills do drive up the road. I didn’t count but Jim and I estimate there were at least 30  tight hairpin turns, so tight and steep that Mičo usually had to pull forward and back up and pull forward again, sometimes twice, in order to make the turn. Sitting in the back with no seatbelt as we pulled right up to the edge of steep drop offs I could only give myself over to fate. As we bounced along the ‘road’ Bojana did as she did last year when we road together in the White Angel, she often put her hand on my leg, arm or hand and held on to me affectionately and tightly. As before, it took me a few minutes to soften my boundaries and welcome the close contact. I like it but am not used to it.

After driving for a good 40 minutes up through the beech tree forest (which was blanketed with wild flowers when Jim and I hiked in the spring) we finally reached more open areas where we could see mountains both near and far. The whole mountainous region is called, Sinjejavina. 

Eventually we got to a grassy area where there is a hiker’s hut and about 10 little traditional style ‘Katuns’ where hikers can sleep. I would only want to sleep in such a shelter if I had no tent and it was raining or snowing. The shelters are big enough for one person to sit up and lie down in and have no windows, just a door at one end. Jim and I had taken a footpath from here when we hiked 6 years ago but Mičo kept driving up more switchbacks until we reached the top of the pass. He parked the White Angel and we emerged into chilly wind strong enough to blow my hat off. Mičo immediately pulled out a little bottle of rakija and 4 shot glasses and we toasted, then bundled up and followed Mičo down through the tall tan grasses and low shrubs, not on any discernible trail. Jim and Mičo walked on ahead while Bojana and I stopped often to take photos of the vistas and each other. We also picked blueberries (borovnica) off the low plants whose leaves were in their vivid red fall colors. Our entire trajectory was down and I was well aware we would later be going entirely up, but in most places the slope was relatively gentle. The landscape is similar to Colorado and Mičo joked that it was Colorado-Montenegro. Finally the lake came into view. It is the lake where Mičo watered the sheep and sometimes swam when he was young. He has very fond memories of that place and those days. He worked very hard for his parents but his life was good. In their summer katun there was no electricity. They walked 6 hours with their 100 sheep from their winter house on another mountainside to the high summer pastures. They paid a fee for permission to graze there. They sheared the sheep as well as used them for food.

Recently Kristina and her brother commissioned a Montenegrin painter to paint the scene of the lake and sheep with young Mičo in the foreground and gave the large painting to him. It hangs on the wall in their house and both of them frequently look at it and talk about it. It means a lot to them. As we approached the lake Bojana kept taking photos of Mičo gazing at the lake, attempting to mimic the scene in the painting.

We walked half way around the lake (lots of mint grew next to the shore), passed some new small katun shaped modern cabins at the other end, and encountered a shepherd with a bunch of sheep. He and Mičo had a nice chat about herding in the old days.  We also passed horses and chickens and old small homes as we continued on toward a smaller lake that turned out to be more marsh than lake. We sat by the shore in the shade for a while then started the hike back to the car. This time when we passed the sheep the shepherd was lying down dozing in the field. I stopped for a bit and listened to the sound the sheep make when the eat the grass. I find watching sheep eating to be soothing and mesmerizing.

Our steady, long, uphill walk was good exercise but not too difficult. Once at the top of the pass Mičo pulled out more rakija and Bojana served us spinach pastries leftover from breakfast. While I enjoyed it at breakfast it tasted even better after our long uphill hike in the fresh air. We packed ourselves back into the car and Mičo once again  navigated the many hairpin turns we had encountered on our ascent. At one point after pulling forward he could not get the car to go in reverse but he persevered and finally succeeded. The car has no power-assisted steering. I joked that Mičo has no need for a gym because he gets such a good workout steering the White Angel on challenging roads. As we passed by the 500 year old beech trees in the forest I was almost moved to tears. My feelings were complex and included gratitude for being on this trip and in that place with those kind people, and awe towards the large old trees, and sadness about the steady decline of our environment’s health.

I was relieved when we finally made it back to the main road and ‘home’ shortly after. Jim and I were so touched and grateful that Mičo shared this special place with us.

Shortly after returning home the family of kids we have gotten to know on previous visits all showed up. The oldest, Neda, was Kristina’s best friend when they were growing up. She is now married and has a 3 and a half year old son, Vasilije, a sparkly eyed cutie. Her twin siblings, Lana and Pavle, are 15. Lana is the best in her class and will probably go into Pharmacy studies but really wants to be a model. She is beautiful but personally I think she is prettiest when she does not wear a lot of make-up. The same is true for Neda. Pavle is also a good student and loves taking photos with our cameras when we visit. When we first met he was barely 9 and simply took Jim’s camera without asking. This time he actually asked. Every time we have visited he has gone outside and taken pictures. This year I brought prints from last year and put them in a photo album for him. We gave earring to the girls and a toy Jeep to Vasilije. The house was hectic and wild as numerous conversations went on at once. Pavle and Lana are learning English in school but we still used Google translate a lot. Neda was interested in finding out if and how her husband might find an electrical engineering job in the U.S. I told her I’d do some research.

We hugged and kissed and said goodbye, planning for them to come again the next day but that did not end up working out. I love that family. We keep in touch via Instagram and Messenger between visits.

We have enjoyed watching the kids mature these past 6 years and are touched that they seem to enjoy us as well.

After the kids left we had delicious trout for dinner. I rarely eat fish so Jim had to show me how to eat it. In addition we had potatoes, cheese, bread, and communal plates of tomatoes and cucumbers. We find it interesting how people here typically put bread directly on the table, and often don’t use serving spoons for the veggies and meats. People just use their own forks to take food from the communal dishes.

All the food was great. Bojana loves to cook and puts her heart into preparing food and serving others. She said not many younger women like to cook. She is grateful that Kristina likes it and wants to continue cooking traditional recipes.

After dinner Danka came by with her daughter, Jelena, a dental hygienist in the city of Bar 2 hours away. We had met Jelena last year and had a nice time catching up. Her English is decent. She has an 18 yr old son who is a great student and is learning to drive, which Jelena finds scary. Danka brought us a big box of chocolate. I didn’t think to open it then and share it with them but I did open it after they left and shared with Mičo and Bojana.

It was a FULL day, and a great day filled with much shared joy.

Photos: Mičo’s and Bojana’s house, M and B at breakfast, road in Biogradska park, the hike and lake, Neda and Vasilije, Danka and Jelena, 2018 pix of Lana and Pavle, dinner, view from the house